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You need a little bit of visceral fat to make a nice cushion for all the important bits, like your heart and liver, and you can find out exactly how much you’ve got by going for an MRI scan, or even just getting a tape measure and wrapping it around your waist at your belly button.

For women, this measurement should be 35 inches or less and for men the number is 40 inches.

Anyway, if you’re carrying any extra inches then here are 13 things to do today.

4. Cheese

5. Alcohol

At 180 calories per large glass of wine, this is the calorific equivalent of a doughnut

But increasing your intake of these things will help you slim down:

6. Nuts

Nuts will keep you fuller for longer and stop you snacking on crisps

*ooh crisps*

Go nuts (Image: margouillatphotos)

7. Oils

Sunflower, olive and flaxseed oil all provide good things like Vitamin E, plus they reduce inflammation

Oil up (Image: dulezidar)

8. Avocado

Helps reduce cholesterol

An avocado a day keeps the fat away (Image: ansonmiao)

9. Protein Powder

This is not just for gym bunnies. These powders contain amino acids which burn fat and build muscle

Not just for bodybuilders (Image: Cenk1988)

10. Leafy Greens

Things like spinach or kale are very low calorie and help reduce water retention

The leafier the better (Image: lightstock)

Next you need to get moving...

11. Exercise

The guidelines for 19-64 year olds are to aim for two and a half hours of aerobic exercise every week (that’s something that gets your heart racing like running, fast walking, cycling, playing sports or even gardening at full pelt).

Get moving

Plus, twice a week, you should aim to do muscle strengthening activities to exercise your abdomen, chest, legs, arms and back (like stretching, Yoga or weight lifting).

12. Sit ups and crunches

On their own, sit ups and crunches will do nothing to reduce your belly fat.

You’ll have nice strong stomach muscles but you won’t be able to see them.

But sit ups, combined with the aforementioned diet adjustments will make you looked toned and help build up your core strength.

Aim to increase the number of sit ups you do slowly from as many as you can manage (so, in most cases about two) and then work it into your exercise plan.